It is hard to believe that this will be the last edition of the Inside Out for 2019. There has been a lot of activity over the last weeks as staff have completed marking, reporting and programs for the year. You will receive your daughter's report in the coming days. I encourage you to sit with your daughter and go through the document. Affirm where there has been improvement and growth and discuss a plan where the growth has been disappointing. In a few weeks, the Year 12 girls will receive their HSC results and it is the attentive students, whose parents have been engaged in their education throughout their time here, who will achieve their personal bests.

Each year, NESA identifies students who have created a practical piece which is worthy of acknowledgement. I am delighted to inform you that Samantha G’s Design and Technology Major work has been nominated  for the Shape 2019 exhibition. We are thrilled for Sam’s success and hope to see her work exhibited in the Powerhouse Museum next year.

Similarly, I was informed by Cassandra Le Good (2012 College Captain) recently that she was successful in being selected for the 2020 New Colombo Plan Scholarship. The New Colombo Plan is a signature initiative of the Australian Government which aims to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region. Cassie aims to do her work in South Korea and Myanmar. This is a wonderful achievement. We wish her well.

During the term we have been collecting hamper items for disadvantaged families in the local area for St Vincent de Paul. Some classes have been extraordinarily generous in collecting their items. The College has been asked to make up 60 hampers. For some families, this may be all they receive for Christmas this year. I thank you for the support you have given your daughter as she has been bringing her items to school over this time.  If any of us ever find ourselves in such a dire situation, let’s hope that there will be generous people in the community to restore our sense of hope and worth through their compassionate support.

As we come to the end of the year, I would like to acknowledge and thank Mrs Williams and Ms Calka who will be finishing their temporary contracts with us. Mrs Williams has been dynamic in the classroom and offered the girls some wonderful learning experiences in that time. I would also like to thank Ms Calka who has been a great support to the faculties and students over the year. We wish both ladies the very best for the future. Finally, Ms Attard will be finishing at the College this year. She has served this community well for over 20 years in various administration roles. We thank her for her commitment to the College and wish her the very best in her future endeavours.

So, we are fast approaching Christmas. From all at the College, we wish you a blessed and holy Christmas. May the goodness and kindness of our Lord be with you during and beyond the season. For our families of other faiths, may you feel the peace of the season and experience the goodwill extended to all in our communities. Thank you for a productive and successful 2019 and may 2020 be filled with the joy you hope for.

Blessings

Sue Lennox - Principal 

The Word made flesh, 
He lived amoung us,
and we saw His glory,
the glory that is His and the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
Amen

John 1:14

Advent means waiting or coming and the liturgical colour for Advent is violet, a royal purple that symbolises the Kingdom of God. Advent then is a period of waiting, of spiritual anticipation, preparation and longing for the coming of Christ and the Kingdom of God.  In this sense, Advent is a season of hope, faith, joy and peace, reflected in the lighting of the three purple and one pink candle in the Advent Wreath.

In the busyness of today’s world we have become used to instant gratification: you can get an answer to a Google search in under one second, you can ask Google Home to add grocery items to your shopping list as you run out, you can express most things, express post, express checkout and express recharge your prepaid phone, and now you can ‘tap and go’ payments for everything you purchase!  It is no wonder then that the concept of waiting, preparing and anticipating has become foreign to many of us.  And yet, this is what belief in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God is all about.  Waiting for the coming of the Saviour and working toward the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God is the preparation we undergo as we seek eternal life with God.

In this Advent season, let us slow down and celebrate the discipline of waiting: enjoy the long sunny but cool afternoons of early summer, just relaxing with friends and family, read that book you’ve been meaning to read or see that movie that you promised yourself you would.

Louise East - Religious Education Coordinator

Seeing Christmas as a time for giving has also given rise to the person of Santa Claus—the gift-giver. St Nicholas is the original Santa Claus. He lived in the time of the Roman Empire and became a bishop who developed a reputation as a gift-giver, especially to the children of the poor in his society. Following this long tradition of Christmas as a time of giving, the St Pat’s community each year in Term 4 contributes to the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Christmas hampers. The hampers are distributed to the families in our local community who would otherwise have nothing special to share on Christmas Day. This year, there has been one homeroom which has donated enough items to fill four baskets and another homeroom filled seven baskets! In total, the St Patrick’s community has contributed to the creation of 60 hampers. This kind of generosity from our girls and their families is a wonderful expression of the Benedictine values we seek to live out each day.

Angelo Gattone - Mission Coordinator

Jesus knows what it is to be human. Jesus models for us the highest expression of our humanity. Jesus teaches us to be loving, compassionate, merciful, caring and just. As one way of honouring Jesus’ command to ‘love one another’, we offered in our Mass the donations we have made to the St Vincent de Paul Society to assist them with their Christmas Appeal.

We also acknowledged that this was our final Eucharistic celebration this year as the St Patrick’s community. Our prayer today was one of sincere gratitude for the many blessings with which our loving God has favoured us this year. 

Angelo Gattone - Mission Coordinator

The College recognised scholastic, cultural, community and sporting achievements.  Awards were presented to our Year 7 to 11 students for placings in subjects, outstanding efforts, outstanding contributions and Principal's awards for accumulating merits throughout the year. We congratulate all students who received these awards and we also congratulate the following students who won major awards:

MOST OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC STUDENTS IN EACH YEAR

Year 7  Stephanie E

Year 8 Isabella W

Year 9  Grace K

Year 10 Chantelle

Year 11 Imogen M

WESTERN SYDNEY UNIVERSITY - The Academy Access Award - Imogen M

THE VICTOR CHANG CARDIAC RESEARCH AWARD - Minduli T

THE ADF LONG TAN LEADERSHIP AWARD - Sarah P

THE SCHOLASTICA AWARD -  Middle School: BIANCA R   Senior School: CAROLINE A

CAMPBELLTOWN COMMUNITY AWARD -  ABIGAIL G

CAMPBELLTOWN COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD -  OLIVIA L and MOLLY Q

ANZAC DAY SCHOOL AWARDS -  Eve M, Olivia M, Bronwyn Z and Laura Z representing the History Club.  

SPORTSWOMEN OF THE YEAR

Year 11   - Tara B

Year 10  - Piper A

Year 9  - Katarina S

Year 8  - Amy Y

Year 7  - Siena B

WARATAH AWARD

YEAR 9

Katarina S - Netball

YEAR 10

Evana S - Netball

YEAR 11

Elizabeth C - Netball

Amelia C - Hockey

Tara B - Football

Jarian H - Weight lifting

GREEN AND GOLD AWARD

YEAR 11

Jarian H - Weightlifting

COLLEGE SPIRIT AWARD

Year 7   Bronwyn Z and Laura Z

Year 8   Darcy E

Year 9   Tavara S

Year 10  Amadee T

Year 11  Minduli T

PRIZE OF HONOUR

Year 7   Meghan W

Year 8   Mia C

Year 9   Olivia L

Year 10 Sarah A

Year 11 Jessica-Leigh R

BARBARA DOBLE AWARD - Caroline A

Chris Bettiol - Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching

The girls of St Patrick’s College had the absolute privilege to attend the annual Cabramatta High peace day. As a second-time attender, I was absolutely thrilled to have this opportunity once again, as such an event was able to unveil a profound impact and experience on my development as a young lady. Cabramatta seemed to be a place of strength, boosted by the immense pride of cultural expression through its youth within the community. 

This year’s winning Sydney Peace prize topic was inspired by the powerful “MeToo” movement. It is about empowering a stronger sense of gender equality and challenging the struggles many women throughout the globe have concerning sexual harassment and abuse. 

Cabramatta Peace Day was proudly displaying the enriching skills and diverse talents of the school students in the area. Two special guest speakers were present: Tracy Spicer - an Australian newsreader and activist of women’s protection and empowerment from sexual or violent encounters, and Tarana Burke- founder of the MeToo movement from the Bronx, New York.  Both of these women echoed the Christian values we as the St Patrick’s community strive for, therefore, overall the event was such an eye-opener.

Jadyn B - Year 10 Student

The fascinating ceremony that was the Peace Day Prize is one that will resonate with me for forever and a day. As a feminist myself, I was thrilled to hear this year's prize was being awarded to an ambassador of the #metoo movement, and to learn that this individual was Tarana Burke just blew my mind into a million tiny pieces. To see, meet and listen to everything one of my idols had to say made me feel as though I was in some sort of dream. Needless to say, the way she spoke and the issues she spoke about made me look at her and think "this is who I want to be." 

Jaida A - Year 11 Student

The intention of the day was to incorporate the Good Samaritan mission and charism and align this with the Environmental Stewardship. Our objectives for the day was to be a Good Samaritan for the Earth, to share our sustainability journey across our schools, increase the opportunities for student ecological leadership and linking and learning from others in relation to the EarthCare Youth Program. We used the See Judge Act model and reflected on how we can be a Good Samaritan for the Earth using our parable as a guide. We then connected with the Earth by participating in a walk to the Blue Gum Forest behind MSB and collected beautiful nature items to create a bookmark. We then heard from Ms Clare Vernon from Catholic EarthCare and the girls who attended the first Youth Eco Summit. She explored how we can become an environmental citizen by taking the “first step” by being mindful of our own ecological footprint. Finally, we shared what we are already doing in our respective schools. I am happy to say that St Pat’s has always done an amazing job with caring for the environment so it was pleasing to hear our girls proudly share this. The girls who participated thoroughly enjoyed the day and came back with many exciting ideas for 2020. We will be hosting our very own Eco Summit next year so stay tuned for more details.

Maria Boulatsakos - Year 7 Coordinator

Year 7/8/9 AFL - 2nd Place

With only a few girls in the team with previous AFL experience, it was going to be a steep learning curve for all students involved. Fortunately, the girls were able to pick up the skills and tactics of the game very quickly which made them an extremely competitive team throughout the season. All girls will be better players for the experience and should be extremely proud of themselves for finishing in 2nd place overall. The team consisted of Sandrine M, Mia F, Sophia S, Fale'ofa A, Stevie F, Jacqueline C, Siena B, Annabel M, Ilori P, Annalise D and Charlotte T. Coach Mrs Arena.

Year 7/8/9 Softball - 1st Place

Once again we had a number of girls selected in the team with minimal softball experience but this did not stop this group of extremely enthusiastic and naturally gifted students from giving their best week in and week out. The girls were very competitive which saw them win the majority of their games to finish in 1st place overall. Congratulations on a fantastic season. The team consisted of Charlotte F, Katarina S, Lucy O, Sophia E, Abbie H, Molly Q, Grace K, Jess W, Amy W, Brianna M, Jordanne M, Lillian M, Piper C and Samantha S. Coach Mrs Lawrence.

Year 7/8/9 Oz Tag - 1st Place

After an extensive trial process and much debate, the following girls were selected to represent the College in the Year 7-9 MISA Oz Tag competition. The team consisted of many future superstars and the competition was no match for the St Pat's girls going through the season undefeated and finishing in 1^st place overall. The closest game the girls had was a 9-1 win against John Therry who finished in second place. The team consisted of Eden G, Amelia B, Amy Y, Olivia Z, Lara M, Grace G, Keesha D, Tess M, Olivia H, Sophie A, Ava H, Aaliyah B and Darcy E. Coach Mr Baca and Mr Ashkar.

Year 10/11 Volleyball - 4th Place

A tough season for the girls coming up against some very strong competition but to their credit, they gave their best every week and demonstrated a great deal of improvement throughout the season. The girls finished in 4^th place overall and developed a range of skills that will place them in good stead for years to come. The team consisted of Evana S, Naina N, Rachael T, Arden D, Georgia R, Loretta T and Natalie C. Coach Mrs Nash.

Year 10/11 Frisbee - 5th Place

The frisbee team consisted of a group of extremely enthusiastic, talented and motivated students who displayed a great deal of skill and team work to consistently challenge the best teams in the competition. Even the fact it was a mixed competition didn’t deter the girls who played to the best of their ability week in and week out. The girls finished in 5th place overall and have developed a strong interest in the sport as a result of their participation. The team consisted of Piper L, Muskaan N, Tara B, Amadee T, Alysha B, Kassandra S, Gabby K, Olivia S, Sarah P, Emilee O, Ruby D, Rahni W, Paris H and Ellie F. Coach Mr Ashcroft.

Scott Ashcroft - Sports and Activities Coordinator

The event, proudly sponsored by the Catholic Development Fund (CDF), attracted over 500 guests to St Mary Star of the Sea in Wollongong. Over 170 students, seven teams and one teacher were presented on the night with awards.

The annual presentation ceremony is a significant event where teachers, parents, support staff and all others who contribute as coaches, trainers, officials and administrators are acknowledged and thanked for their time, expertise and practical support to the young people who compete as individuals and team members.

St Patrick's was lucky enough to have six students being presented with awards, as well as our Championship winning NSWCCC Year 9/10 Netball team. 

Students acknowledged at the event with Diocesan Red awards included:

Ruby D (Year 11) – Cross Country

Amy S (Year 12) – Netball

Natalie S (Year 12) – Netball

Stephanie E (Year 12) – Cricket

Katarina S (Year 9) - Athletics

As well as Amelia C (Year 11) who recieved a Diocesan Blue award for Hockey

Scott Ashcroft - Sports and Activities Coordinator

Siena has been selected as the team's Goal Keeper and will be competing in the 2020 FFA National Championships in Canberra next year from 13 to 17 January. We wish you the best of luck Siena. 

Scott Ashcroft - Sports and Activities Coordinator

However, there are some things that students might like to consider doing, perhaps towards the end of the holidays, that will make their school year ahead much easier, particularly senior students.

Organise and rearrange your room and study space to make it a more effective learning area.
Sort out all of your materials for school, decide what to keep and how to organise your work and if you can improve your filing systems.
Set up term planners for the year so you can map out your due dates when the year starts.
Set up a study timetable for the year so you have clear times allocated to complete your schoolwork during the week.
Think about building your skills in any areas of weakness or any areas you’d like to develop new skills in, like touch typing.
If you can find out any of the novels you will be studying in the coming year, read them over the holidays.
For senior students, consider downloading the syllabus documents for the subjects you will be studying.

Of course, we also want our students to refresh their mind and body, catch up on their sleep, and take the time to focus on enjoying a healthy lifestyle.  

Students have been encouraged in the last few weeks to borrow books from the Library to read over the school holidays. We have recently included lots of new titles to our collection, and Library staff were always on hand to help, eager to match a great book with every student. Alternatively, students have free access to the Library's eBook and Audiobook collection at all times, including over the holidays...just download 'ePlatform by Wheelers' app on a device, choose 'Saint Patrick's College, Campbelltown' and sign in using your College username and password. In the last month alone, we have seen a 90% increase in active patronage on ePlatform, as more and more students discover the benefits of eResources - eBooks and Audiobooks are free, don't take up any physical space, and are automatically deleted from your device a few weeks after download - what's not to love?! Audiobooks in particular are fantastic for holiday travel. Happy holiday reading from the College Library!

The College Library

We are most grateful to all the wonderfully generous families who have donated books of all kinds that will make lots of little readers very happy. We look forward to delivering our book baskets to our neighbouring schools before Christmas and hopefully sharing more of our favourite picture books, novels and non-fiction books with them next year.

Claire McGillicuddy - English Teacher

There will be live music, face painting, jumping castles, food stalls and more. Carols by Candlelight will kick off from 7pm with performances from a variety of community groups, including our very own St Patrick's choir. The night will come to a close with a spectacular display of fireworks at 9pm. Check out the 'Appin Carols in the Park' Facebook page for further information. 

for all events at the College, CLICK HERE